The part of the stick above where a goalie holds on is barely more than an inch wide. That's what protects the top corner of the net as a shooter between the faceoff circles sees it.
Advantage to the shooter, right?
Maybe not, as Ryland Mosley found out last Friday in a scene that perfectly captured where the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team is amid a troubled start to the season.
Mosley fired around a Notre Dame defender from the slot, trying for the top left corner of the net. But that inch of stick above goalie Owen Say's blocker got in the way; the force of the shot knocked the stick out of the goalie's hand and sent the puck up over the glass.
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That shot probably goes in nine times out of 10. The Badgers' offense seems to be stuck in the other one.
"Mosley is a guy that's been around. He's pretty calloused," Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. "He kind of looked it off and he says, 'Yeah, next time I've got to miss the knob.' I like his mentality."
The Badgers are 2-6 heading into what's always one of the biggest weekends on the schedule, the Border Battle visit from No. 3 Minnesota at the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday. They've scored two goals or fewer in seven of the eight games.
Scoring woes are part of the reason the Badgers have been slow out of the gate after making it to the NCAA Tournament last season and starting this campaign at No. 10 in the preseason rankings. But it goes deeper.
Here are five elements at play in Wisconsin's rough start and a big-picture take from Hastings on how the Badgers can't let the first part of the season dictate how the rest of it goes.
Depth scoring has been slow to develop
The first line has been productive enough: Quinn Finley has scored five goals, while Mosley and Gavin Morrissey have netted two apiece. The rest of the team has combined for five goals, and four of them came in last weekend's series at Notre Dame.
Badgers forward Simon Tassy scored his first goal of the season against Notre Dame last Saturday. Only seven Wisconsin players have scored through eight games.
The Badgers need more players putting the puck in the net. It took eight games for Simon Tassy, who had 12 goals a season ago, to get his first this season. Cody Laskosky scored 14 at RIT last season but hasn't hit the mark yet for the Badgers. Kyle Kukkonen has attempted 45 shots — third on the team behind Finley and Mosley — without a goal.
The shortfall hasn't been due to a lack of chances, just a lack of finishing. Wisconsin has had more even-strength shot attempts than its opponent in all eight games and has produced 63% of them for the season. That kind of puck possession should be getting more results.
The Badgers aren't getting key saves
The tough decision that Hastings expected to have to make last season never developed. Kyle McClellan made the No. 1 goalie question moot by dominating early, helping Wisconsin to a 9-1 start that set the tone.
That's a tough bar to use as a comparison, but Badgers goalies Tommy Scarfone and William Gramme haven't even reached the 90% mark in saves that coaches have been seeking as a baseline. Hastings floated the possibility of third goalie Anton Castro getting a chance before Scarfone took a step last Saturday by bouncing back from an overtime loss to deliver a 2-1 road win against Notre Dame.
It's tough to imagine success coming for a team that has a lack of scoring and a question in goal. The goalies' performance to date hasn't inspired confidence that the Badgers are going to come out ahead in low-scoring games.
Wisconsin has fallen short in decisive moments
The opening game of a series at No. 1 Denver was there for the Badgers to take. It was 2-2 going into the third period, but they didn't get the next goal and lost 4-2. Similar situations have played out two other times so far.
Wisconsin outshot Ohio State 13-3 in the third period of a tie game Oct. 18 but lost in overtime. It was even with Notre Dame last Friday and outshot the Irish 13-5 in the final 20 minutes of regulation but didn't score and again fell in overtime.
Games have critical times where puck battles and important decisions decide the outcome. The Badgers haven't been on the winning end of those moments often enough.
Leads have been hard to come by — and to hold
The 27 minutes, 27 seconds that Wisconsin led in last Saturday's win against Notre Dame nearly matched the amount of time it played from ahead over the first seven games. Worse, the 28:30 of leading produced no wins in the 1-6 start; the only victory came when the Badgers rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 overtime win over Lindenwood on Oct. 12.
They scored first in both losses at Denver. They came back to take a 2-1 lead at Notre Dame last Friday, only to give up a tying goal 31 seconds later and fall in overtime.
Time will tell whether the win last Saturday, when Tassy's power-play goal in the final minute of the second period put the Badgers in the lead for good, is a launching point.
Injuries have thinned the defensive ranks
Upper-body injuries have taken a toll on the Badgers defense. Wisconsin has played the last six games without Zach Schulz, and Anthony Kehrer, Joe Palodichuk and Logan Hensler missed time last weekend.
That left freshman Weston Knox to play his first games and forced the Badgers to slide forward Jack Horbach into a defensive role in which he did an admirable job, considering the circumstances. But it was pretty well established who the Badgers' top six defensemen were entering the season, and being without some of them has altered the composition of a position of strength.
Kehrer is "in a really good spot" to return for the games against Minnesota, Hastings said. Palodichuk will miss the series. Hensler, a likely first-round NHL draft pick next year, and Schulz are day to day.
What's on the other side?
Hastings coached an Omaha Lancers team that started the 2006-07 United States Hockey League season with one win, five regulation losses and one overtime defeat in its first seven games. It scored only 12 goals in that stretch — six of them in the one win. It sounds similar to this season's Badgers team.
Omaha ended the regular season 38-17-5 and as champions of the West Division, one point back of the overall points leader. A poor start doesn't have to condemn the rest of the season, but Hastings said pulling out of it depends on the players' commitment to staying with the program.
"Can they buy into it as long as they need to buy into it to turn it around?" he said.
Ending a five-game losing streak last Saturday amid injuries and lineup changes was a step in having something to build on. Belief needs evidence, Hastings said.
"I haven't seen Bigfoot yet," he said. "I've heard a lot about him, but until I see him, I don't know if I'm going to believe in that."
There were sightings of winning streaks that fed the buy-in at this time a year ago, including a memorable road sweep of then-No. 1 Minnesota. Meetings in Madison this week are a highly visible test of the Badgers' belief this season.
Meet 12 former Wisconsin men's hockey players on 2024-25 NHL opening night rosters
Cole Caufield, Montreal
Cole Caufield, who played for the Badgers from 2019 to 2021 and won the Hobey Baker Award as a sophomore, is entering his fourth full pro season with the Montreal Canadiens.
Ty Emberson, Edmonton
Ty Emberson, who played for the Badgers from 2018 to 2021, was traded from San Jose to Edmonton in August 2024.
Trent Frederic, Boston
Trent Frederic, a Badgers forward from 2016 to 2018, is starting his seventh full pro season and his entire NHL career has been with Boston.
Dylan Holloway, St. Louis
Dylan Holloway, who played for the Badgers from 2019 to 2021, signed an offer sheet with St. Louis in the 2024 offseason after three years with Edmonton, which declined to match the terms.
Luke Kunin, San Jose
Former Badgers captain Luke Kunin, who played at Wisconsin from 2015 to 2017, is entering his third season with San Jose. He also has played for Minnesota and Nashville.
Jake McCabe, Toronto
Jake McCabe, a Wisconsin defenseman from 2011 to 2014, is starting his 11th full pro season and his second full season in Toronto after a midseason trade from Chicago in 2023.
Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who played at Wisconsin from 2007 to 2010, is starting his second stint with Tampa Bay after two seasons in Nashville.
K'Andre Miller, New York Rangers
K'Andre Miller, a Wisconsin defenseman from 2018 to 2020, is starting his fifth season with the New York Rangers.
Brendan Smith, Dallas
Brendan Smith, a Wisconsin defenseman from 2007 to 2010, joined his fifth NHL team when he signed with Dallas in the 2024 offseason.
Craig Smith, Chicago
Craig Smith, a Badgers forward from 2009 to 2011, signed a one-year contract with Chicago in the 2024 offseason after playing last season with Dallas.
Ryan Suter, St. Louis
Ryan Suter, a Wisconsin defenseman in the 2003-04 season, signed with St. Louis after Dallas bought out his contract. He's starting his 20th NHL season.
Alex Turcotte, Los Angeles
Alex Turcotte, a Badgers forward in the 2019-20 season, has played 32 NHL games over the previous three seasons, all of them with Los Angeles.
